Part 7: Miscellaneous and generalTrafficking people for exploitation
69.On 29 March 2010, the European Commission tabled its proposal for a directive on trafficking in human beings; the EU agreed a finalised text in March 2011 which was adopted on 5 April 2011 (Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decisions 2002/629/JHA)(27). The UK applied to opt in to the Directive in July 2011 and in October 2011, received confirmation from the European Commission that its application had been accepted. The UK is already compliant with most of the requirements of the Directive; however, there are two aspects which require primary legislation in order to comply. Government is now working on implementing the Directive to ensure compliance by the April 2013 deadline.
70.The offences of harassment and putting people in fear of violence in the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 came into force on 16 June of that year. That Act criminalises harassment and the more serious offence of pursuing a course of conduct putting people in fear of violence. On 14 November 2011 the Home Office launched a consultation to ask for views on how to protect victims of stalking more effectively and whether or not a change in the law was required; there were 156 responses to the consultation, which closed on 5 February 2012.
Repeal of provisions for conducting certain fraud cases without jury
71.The Programme for Government (section 3: civil liberties) states that the Government “will protect historic freedoms through the defence of trial by jury”.
72.Section 43 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”) makes provision for the prosecution to apply for a serious or complex fraud trial to proceed in the absence of a jury. The judge may order the case to be conducted without a jury if he or she is satisfied that the length or complexity (or both) of the case is likely to make the trial so burdensome upon the jury that the interests of justice require serious consideration to be given to conducting the trial without a jury.
73.Section 43 has not been implemented. By virtue of section 330(5)(b) of the 2003 Act, an order bringing section 43 into force is subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. A draft commencement order designed to bring section 43 of the 2003 Act into force was considered in standing committee in the House of Commons in November 2005. The order was then due to be debated in the House of Lords but the then Government withdrew the motion to approve it. Subsequently, in November 2006, the Government introduced the Fraud (Trials without a Jury) Bill which sought to repeal the requirement for an affirmative resolution. That Bill was defeated at Second Reading in the House of Lords on 20 March 2007 (Hansard, column 1146-1204).
